Market plunges below 44000
On November 3 Taiwan stocks faced heavy selling pressure, with the weighted index plunging 1612.6 points to close at 43307.54, down 3.59%, falling below the 44000 mark. Foreign investors sold over 100 billion in a single day, the 8th largest sell-off on record. The eight state-linked banks, seen as an indicator of the national team, bought against the trend with net purchases of about 28.48 billion, remaining net buyers for 4 consecutive trading days. The weighted index fell from 46096.23 on October 27 to 43307.54 on November 3, down 2788.69 points, or about 6.05%, giving back nearly 2800 points in just 5 trading sessions.
Heavyweights at core of buying
According to statistics, on November 3 the eight state-linked banks’ top net buy was Yuanta Taiwan 50 (0050), with 26784 lots for about 2.725 billion, ranking first for the day. Next was market leader TSMC (2330), with 1167 lots for about 2.692 billion; MediaTek (2454) with 643 lots for about 2.472 billion; and ASE Technology Holding (3711) with 1922 lots for about 1.229 billion. The 3 semiconductor heavyweights TSMC, MediaTek and ASE Technology Holding alone totaled 6.393 billion, and together with 0050 reached 9.118 billion, about 32% of the day’s total net buying of 28.48 billion.
Memory stocks and ETFs bought together
Memory stocks also attracted funds. China Motor Winbond saw the largest volume with 5608 lots for about 853 million; Nanya Technology saw 2103 lots for about 890 million, and together with Macronix (2337) and PSMC (6770), the 4 memory stocks totaled 16323 lots. ETFs were also actively bought, with Active CTBC Taiwan Income (00406A) bought 115714 lots for about 938 million; Yuanta Taiwan 50 Bull 2X (00631L) bought 20566 lots for about 664 million. From October 27 to 30, the eight state-linked banks bought 359400 lots of 00406A, 0050 saw 43700 lots for about 4.638 billion, while Fubon Taiwan Weighted Bull 2X (00685L), Active Uni-President Taiwan Stock Growth (00981A) and KGI Taiwan TOP50 (009816) also ranked near the top.
Selling pressure remains, outlook to be watched
Amid continued volatility, state-linked brokerages kept buying, with cumulative net buying of 80.88 billion over the past 5 trading sessions and 2707.4 billion over the past 20 trading sessions, with November 3 alone accounting for about 35.2% of the 5-day total. Despite domestic buying, the Taiex still fell over 6% in 5 days, showing selling pressure remains heavy, and it remains to be seen whether foreign selling will ease and how U.S. technology and semiconductor stocks perform. Note also that buying and selling by the eight state-linked banks is compiled from trading data of related brokerage branches and may include general client orders, and cannot be directly equated with government support, nor does it mean the National Stabilization Fund has entered the market.